


It's Just A Kiss Away

by springsteenicious



Category: That '70s Show
Genre: F/M, Feelings Realization, Getting Together, Veterans Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:47:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26976850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/springsteenicious/pseuds/springsteenicious
Summary: It's Veteran's Day and everything Hyde thought he knew about love is being changed. Jackie, on the other hand, is just happy to finally be with him.
Relationships: Jackie Burkhart/Steven Hyde
Comments: 4
Kudos: 69





	It's Just A Kiss Away

"Jackie, get your car. We're going on a freakin' date," Hyde said. He wasn't sure why exactly he was doing this. Maybe it was how certain Mrs. Forman had been about him liking her. The more he thought about it, the more he realized she was right. 

He had been jealous when Jackie showed up with a date. He didn't show it, though. Then that asshole Chip called her a bitch and Hyde punched him. 

"It's a Veteran's Day miracle!" Jackie exclaimed. 

Jackie led him to the Lincoln and handed him the keys. 

He drove them to the Hub to get sodas first. Then he drove to one of the more secluded points of Mount Hump. They got out of the car and sat on the hood. 

The radio played through the open car windows. The Rolling Stones' _Gimme Shelter_ was starting. 

Hyde didn't say anything, waiting for Jackie to talk. She always had something to say, surely she would talk his ear off now. The minutes passed and she said nothing. So Hyde focused on the end of the song. 

_"I tell you love, sister, it's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away…"_

That couldn't be true. You couldn't fall in love with someone from just one kiss. You had to get to know them, share their interests, connect to them. Then again, what did Hyde know? He'd never really been in love. 

Hyde stopped listening to the song. It was nice, not talking. Hyde didn't feel like he had to fill the quiet with a stupid joke or a burn. It was nice to just sit with Jackie. She was sitting close enough that their knees touched when her legs weren't crossed. Hyde could feel the heat from her body next to him.

After half an hour of comfortable silence, Jackie said, "This is the best date ever." 

Hyde looked at her. "Jackie, we haven't talked in thirty minutes." Wouldn't Jackie want to have long conversations with the guys she liked? 

"That's okay. Steven, you don't have to say anything. I understand you," she said. 

Well, that was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. No way did she understand him. He barely understood himself. He scoffed. "Oh, you do, do you?"

"Sure. Okay, so you're probably sitting there thinking, 'I'm on this date with this girl, who really, really likes me,'" she seemed embarrassed as she said the last part. "And she's so beautiful that…"

"Jackie-" he interrupted. 

She shushed him and put her finger to his lips. Her finger was soft and cold. She pulled it away before she continued, "And you're wondering, 'How can I open up to her when everyone I have ever loved have abandoned me? Am I even worthy of love?'" 

She was partially right, not that he'd ever tell her. He had no interest in opening up to her just yet. Jackie Burkhart was not on the list of people that knew about Steven Hyde's life. 

"Well, you are, Steven. You are." She put her arm around his shoulders. 

She was ridiculous. Thinking she knew him after hanging out with him only a few times. This was great burn potential. He started fake crying, hiding his eyes with his hands. 

She patted his back and said, "It's okay Steven. It's okay. You know what? Let it out. Let it all out." If she really knew him, she'd know he never cried. 

It took every ounce of self control he had not to laugh in her face. Instead, he blew a raspberry. She pushed herself off the hood of the car and started walking away as she said, "Let's go home." 

"Oh, come on, I'm kidding." He didn't want this date to end, especially not like that. "No, this is- this is alright. We can hang out here for a while, okay?"

Jackie smiled and sat on the hood of the car again. He gave her his soda. She scooted closer and put his arm around her shoulder. It was nice, having her so close. 

They descended into quiet again. After about fifteen minutes, she started shivering. It was nighttime and autumn in Wisconsin could get pretty cold. Hyde only had a t-shirt on under his jean jacket, but he took it off and put it over her shoulders. She smiled at him and put on the jacket. 

"You're such a gentleman," she said. 

"No, I'm not," he said. 

"Sure you are. You gave me your jacket," Jackie said. 

"'Cause you were cold."

"But you're only wearing a t-shirt."

Hyde shrugged. "I'm fine." He really was fine. The heat of Jackie's body so close to his was keeping him warm. They were quiet for a few more minutes, then Jackie moved to the side of the car's hood. He moved with her. 

"I like the view over here. You can see almost the whole mountain," Jackie said, gesturing her hand across the landscape. She turned her eyes skyward. "And you can see all the stars." 

Hyde looked up. The stars were nice, but they were easily outshined by the nearly full moon. Jackie leaned closer to Hyde and pointed at a cluster of stars. "See those stars that kind of look like a W? That's Cassiopeia. She was the most beautiful queen to ever live, but she was always boasting about her beauty." 

"So, kinda like you, huh?" Hyde teased. 

"You think I'm beautiful?" Jackie asked. 

Hyde opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. Jackie laughed and looked back at the night sky. Her eyes shone in the light of the moon. "Yeah, I do think you're beautiful." 

Jackie smiled at him, but didn't say anything. They watched the stars in silence for a while longer. Then, Jackie said, "So, our first date's almost over."

That was a little disappointing. He had really enjoyed tonight. It'd been a while since he'd been on an actual date. 

He nodded and said, "Yeah."

"What'd you think?" she asked. 

It was amazing. It was nice hanging out with someone who wasn't constantly joking around or burning someone else. He actually enjoyed her company. He couldn't say any of that, though. 

Instead, he said, "It was no worse than bowling." She gave him a confused look, but she was smiling. "I don't hate bowling," he clarified. 

Jackie nodded. She glanced at his lips, then back to his eyes, then to his lips. She looked him in the eye as they both started leaning in. The kiss started out soft, just pressing their lips together. He deepened the kiss and she put a hand on his cheek. He felt fireworks going off in his chest. 

They both stopped moving their lips, but they stayed pressed together for a few seconds. Then they parted. 

Jackie didn't say anything, just stared out at the woods. The kiss was still tingling on Hyde's lips. He touched his fingers to his mouth, trying to make the feeling go away. 

"Wow," Jackie said, putting Hyde's thoughts into words. 

"Yeah." Hyde's thoughts were going a mile a minute in his head. He took a deep breath to sort them out. "Shit." 

"What?" Jackie looked at him, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 

"I didn't mean- I just… I like you," Hyde said. The words sounded strange in his mouth, but they were true. And that scared the crap out of him. 

"Duh. Of course you like me. I'm beautiful, smart, a great kisser-" 

"Full of yourself," Hyde interrupted with a teasing smile. Jackie slapped his arm lightly, but smiled. "You are a great kisser, though." 

A blush rose in Jackie's cheeks, but she didn't stop smiling. "So… what now?" 

"Making out?" 

"No- well, yeah, I do wanna make out, but… Are we dating?" Jackie asked. 

Hyde scratched the back of his neck. "I, uh… I've never had a girlfriend before. I'm not gonna be good at all that relationship crap." 

"That's okay. You'll learn. Steven, you don't have to be a perfect boyfriend. I'm not going to be a perfect girlfriend. We'll figure it out," Jackie slipped her fingers between his, "together." 

"Huh." He ran his thumb over hers. "I must be going insane, but… All right. I'll be your boyfriend." 

"Yay!" Jackie squealed. She hugged his arm to her body. "For our next date, we should-" 

"Woah, woah, woah," he interrupted. "Slow down. We're still on this date." 

"You're right. We are still on this date and I don't have to be back home for…" she grabbed his wrist and checked his watch. "...thirty minutes." 

"Plenty of time to show you just how good a kisser I am," Hyde said. 

Jackie smiled and leaned close, but before their lips could touch, she whispered, "Backseat." Then she hopped off the car hood and opened the backseat door. Hyde chuckled softly and followed her. 

Maybe The Rolling Stones were right. Maybe love was just a kiss away. No, Hyde couldn't love Jackie after that one kiss, could he? No way. 

But he sure as hell liked her, a lot more than he ever wanted to. 

~

Jackie walked to the Formans' with a slight skip in her step. Last night had been better than she ever could have hoped. Steven had agreed to be her boyfriend, finally. They'd made out for twenty minutes in the backseat of the Lincoln. 

Jackie's lips tingled as the memory of Steven's talented mouth resurfaced in her mind. Jackie knew she probably wouldn't make Steven wait a year to make love like she had with Michael. Which was a little dangerous. 

But Jackie would control her urges. She would not rush her relationship with Steven. She had the great pleasure of being his first real girlfriend. The prospect made her mind and heart buzz. 

She reached the stairs leading down to the basement and skipped down them quickly. Inside, everyone was already there and watching _I Dream of Jeannie_. Steven was sitting in his chair, Eric was seated on the back of the couch, Donna and Michael on the cushions and Fez in the lawn chair. 

Jackie went around the back of the couch and pulled the foot stool over next to Steven, then sat down on it. He gave her a small smile. 

"Hey," he said. 

"Hi," Jackie said. 

"What is going on?" Eric asked. 

"What do you mean, Forman?" Steven asked. 

"You never say hi to Jackie." Eric gasped. "Wait. No, no, no. What Kelso and Fez said was true? You guys went on an unholy date?" 

"Yep! Steven asked me out and we went on the best date I've ever been on," Jackie said. 

Steven snorted. "She's exaggerating." He turned to her. "Right?" 

"No. It was a really good date," Jackie said. "You agreeing to be my boyfriend made it the best." 

"Oh my God, Hyde. You caved!" Donna exclaimed. 

"I didn't cave," Steven responded. 

"You have a big, fat crush on her don't you?" Donna teased. Jackie smiled and looked up at Steven, who was glaring at Donna. 

"Such a big, fat crush!" Fez said. 

"No! No, Hyde can't like Jackie! They can't date!" Michael shouted. 

"Why the hell not?" Steven asked. He had leaned toward her slightly in his chair, but his arms were folded tensely across his chest. Jackie desperately wanted to straddle his lap and kiss the tension out of him. 

"Yes, why the hell not?" Fez repeated. 

"Because Jackie's mine! We dated for, like, two years! She can't just break up with me then French my best friend," Michael said. He was gesturing wildly with his hands, almost hitting Donna a couple times. 

"Um, yes I can. You cheated on me twice! I'm just moving on, like you did. You're dating Laurie, after all," Jackie said. 

"That's true," Eric said. He looked over at Kelso. "You know what? Jackie can date whoever she wants, no matter how unsettling her choice is! You're still dating my sister and that's just unacceptable." 

Kelso gaped at Eric. "Well… Well… Fine!" 

"Good," Steven said tersely. 

They were all quiet for a moment. Jackie kept her head facing the television, but she still caught the glances Steven kept giving her. Being with him in the basement wasn't new, but they'd never been down here as boyfriend and girlfriend. The buzz in her heart came back. 

"I can't believe Hyde caved," Donna said. 

Jackie turned to look at her. "He did not cave. He realized that he really liked me. It just took him a while to realize his feelings." 

"Or maybe it took you a while to become likeable," Eric said. 

Steven laughed. Jackie raised her eyebrow at him. He just smiled at her. She shook her head and turned away from him. 

"Come on, we're just kidding," Steven said. 

"I'm not," Eric said. Donna slapped his shin. 

"Shut up, Forman," Steven said. "I was kidding, Jackie." 

"I know," Jackie said. She turned back to him and smiled. "I wanna keep you on your toes." 

"Is that what I'm getting myself into?" Steven asked. He was smirking teasingly and it was so damn cute. 

"Oh yeah, buddy. Dating her is a handful," Michael said, ruining the moment. 

"Well, good thing Hyde has two hands and isn't using one to cheat on Jackie with Laurie," Fez said. 

"Ow. Good burn," Michael said. 

"I don't have to worry about Steven cheating on me because he knows I'll ruin his life if he does," Jackie gave Steven her sweetest, most adorable look. "Right, Steven?"

Steven's eyebrows raised over his sunglasses. "Right." 

Jackie brought her hand up and cupped his cheek. She rubbed her thumb over his cheekbone and he leaned into her touch ever so slightly. 

Donna started singing, ruining the moment. _"Hyde and Jackie sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"_

Steven turned to glare at Donna, who just smiled at him. "Would you shut up?" 

"No," Donna responded. "Because I've never seen you like this." 

"Yeah, that's 'cause I'm going insane," Steven said. "That seems like the only logical explanation." 

"Aw, I made you go insane!" Jackie hugged Steven's arm. He offered her a thin smile in return. 

"You sure did, baby," Steven replied, shaking his head slightly. 

"Now he's calling her baby? Man, that's what I used to call her!" Michael said. He stood up and flailed his arms. "I don't like this!"

"Too bad. It's happening," Jackie said. She turned her gaze to Steven. "And I like it when Steven calls me baby." 

"I hate this," Eric said. "Yeah, I hate it a lot. But not as much as I hate Kelso nailing my sister, so… Do whatever you want." 

Steven turned to Eric. His voice had a sarcastic lilt when he spoke next. "Oh, I was just waiting for your permission, Forman." 

"Well, you have my permission," Eric said, nodding his head. 

Steven grinned, then cupped Jackie's cheek and kissed her. Jackie could hear their friends booing and expressing their disgust, but she didn't care. All she cared about was the gentle push and pull of Steven's lips, and how she could finally kiss him.

**Author's Note:**

> number 4 for my numbered draft game on Tumblr at springsteenicious! 
> 
> I think I will most likely add onto this at some point... just little vignettes of their relationship through the rest of season 3 and season 4


End file.
